The Union sports ministry has given its clearance to this year's Indian Premier League but not without questioning the choice of UAE as the venue for the first phase of the tournament.

Replying to BCCI's March 20 requisition seeking its green signal, the ministry told BCCI's chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty that it had "no objection from sports angle" to the conduct of the event provided the ministries of home affairs and external affairs cleared it.

At the same time, it asked BCCI to explain why it chose a 'non-regular venue' for holding a few IPL matches when BCCI had the option of selecting a place "which is on the regular international calendar of ICC".